The Internet of Things (IoT) may be described as a network of physical objects or “things” embedded with various types of electronics, software, sensors, logic, circuitry, etc., that can collect and exchange data. A “thing” (also referred to herein as a “machine-type communication (MTC) device”) may connect to a service hosted on the Internet indirectly (e.g., via another network device, such as a coordinator, a gateway, etc.) or directly.
For network service providers, MTC support involves providing network services to potentially millions of MTC devices. Once MTC devices are delivered to market, it can be extremely difficult to control, configure and manage them, especially as many of the MTC devices may not support over-the-air updates. If MTC devices act unpredictably (e.g., due to malware, improper configuration, etc.), it may be extremely difficult for service providers to protect the network.